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Main Lakhimpur accused denied free hometown visits
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to further relax the bail conditions of Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, rejecting his plea to freely visit his hometown in Uttar Pradesh for family functions
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to further relax the bail conditions of Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, rejecting his plea to freely visit his hometown in Uttar Pradesh for family functions.
Mishra, son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, is currently barred from visiting or staying in Lakhimpur Kheri except to attend trial proceedings. Seeking modification of the court’s January 2023 bail order, his counsel said the restriction prevented him from attending family events, including his daughters’ birthday celebrations.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant dismissed the plea, saying, “We find no ground to entertain this prayer. The application is dismissed.”
The court noted that it had granted Mishra temporary relaxations on several occasions, allowing him to visit Lakhimpur during festivals and spend time with his family. However, after the permitted period, he was required to return to Lucknow in accordance with the bail conditions.
The plea came less than a month after the Uttar Pradesh government cleared Mishra of allegations that he had violated his bail conditions through an associate who allegedly tried to influence a witness. The state submitted a final investigation report before the trial court, saying it found no evidence linking the accused person with either Ashish Mishra or his father. One of Mishra’s bail conditions bars him and his family from influencing witnesses directly or indirectly.
During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the victims, alleged that several crucial witnesses, including eyewitnesses, had been dropped from the trial. He told the court he was collecting documents to move an application.
The bench, however, asked him to first approach the trial court. “The trial judge is the best person to determine why those witnesses are crucial. You should first approach the trial court,” it said.
The Uttar Pradesh government informed the court that the trial was progressing steadily, with 51 of the 131 prosecution witnesses yet to be examined.
The violence dates back to a farmers’ protest on October 3, 2021 in which eight people were killed. Mishra was arrested within six days of the incident. According to the police chargesheet, Mishra arrived at the protest site in a Mahindra Thar SUV along with a convoy of vehicles that allegedly ran over four protesting farmers Enraged protesters then allegedly dragged out and lynched three occupants of the convoy. A journalist died in the violence. A separate case was registered against four farmers, who are also out on bail. In that case, 29 witnesses have been examined, with only a few remaining.
